Brands Doing Tumblr Right

With around 550 million monthly users, Tumblr is a huge resource that many companies aren’t using or don’t know how to use properly. Tumblr has a unique identity that separates itself from other social media, which means content shared across common channels like Facebook and Twitter doesn’t always translate well to the Tumblr-verse. If companies learn how to engage with Tumblr users more effectively, a Tumblr blog could be a huge asset.

What makes an effective Tumblr?

Tumblr is a micro-blogging platform that can be essentially broken down into two main types of bloggers: Those who create original content and those who share that content. This is unique because on most blogging platforms, like WordPress or Blogger, users are expected to make their own content. This “re-blog” feature allows Tumblr users to easily share content they like. Users can also follow blogs which puts content on a user’s dashboard, allowing them to easily see and share content. The number of notes a post has represents the amount of times it has been shared or liked by bloggers.

The other notable thing about Tumblr is the amount of fandoms and small communities that reside within the Tumblr-verse. Similar to Reddit, users can track tags centered around topics they enjoy, such as movies, television shows, books, and more. The website is a bit unconventional in its humor, and connecting with the audience means you might have to extend simple photography.

Here are some companies that use Tumblr successfully:

A mix of current fashion trends, general happy-go-lucky photography, and graphic quotes, most of Glamour’s posts have hundreds of notes. Glamour’s Tumblr is incredibly simplistic but gets a lot of engagement from Tumblr users who focus on fashion.

Taco Bell reaches a younger audience with its gif-based Tumblr blog. Most of the gifs are brightly-colored and graphic, and focus around either tacos or other food products made by Taco Bell. One big engagement on this blog is with the text posts, most of which receive thousands of notes.

Comedy Central successfully uses humor through funny photography, humorous gifs, screen shots from their shows, and videos. Screen shots from some of Comedy Central’s more popular shows, such as the Daily Show, bring in more notes and overall engagement to the rest of its blog.

Arguably the most successful company blog on Tumblr, Denny’s is in a league of its own in the Tumblr-verse. Denny’s has a unique approach when it comes to social media, and this approach is used across all platforms, not just Tumblr. The more bizarre approach to social media is a work of Denny’s pairing with marketing agency Erwin Penland. Denny’s sassy posts and responses receive thousands of notes on Tumblr, reblogs on Twitter, and likes on Facebook.

Denny’s strange yet humor-filled blog include a ton of gifs with breakfast foods, strange text posts, and food-centered photography. Denny’s doesn’t include their logo in many of these posts, so most of these posts just display food or other interesting graphics.

This gives a more genuine feel because it doesn’t seem explicitly like advertising. Posts also include popular memes and references to pop culture and the latest viral internet trends, showing the company stays up-to-date.

To Tumble or not to Tumble?

If your brand or company isn’t using Tumblr yet, it might be time to consider. It’s a huge potential because most brands haven’t started using this platform, but just remember to cater your posts to the needs of the audience.